With Quinton Elementary slated to open, New Kent superintendent’s proposed budget boasts $43.6 million tag

With Quinton Elementary School slated to open in Fall 2022, it was highly anticipated that a proposed budget presented by New Kent Superintendent of Schools Brian Nichols would have a significant ask and increase. It did.

Nichols proposed a budget of $43,667946 for the FY2022-23 year. That request is $5,061,026 more than the current year’s adopted budget of $38,606,290.

Budgeting off an average daily membership (ADM) of 3,300 students, Nichols is looking to add $1,419,861 to Quinton Elementary School’s budget. Of that amount, $983,217 will be used for new employees, while the remaining $436,644 will be used for utilities and school maintenance.

The superintendent’s recommended increase wasn’t solely focused on the new building. He recommended a five-percent increase as part of the salary adjustment, costing approximately $1,337,019. Of that amount, the state would contribute $646,430, meaning the remainder of the contribution would come from local funds. Nichols also expects an increase in healthcare ($580,323), along with Virginia Retirement System (VRS) nonprofessional group rate adjustment ($11,414) and stipend realignments ($12,844) to factor into the salary adjustments.

Recruitment and retention was the next focused area, with a recommendation of a 4.93% adjustment for paraprofessionals ($69,172), realigning the clerical and technical scales ($46,288), and increasing wages in transportation to remain competitive while decompressing the rates between steps ($67,222) as the next areas of focus.

Along the lines of retention and salary increasements, Nichols is recommending increasing the teacher starting salary by four percent. An educator with a Bachelor of Arts degree would begin with a salary of $47,750, while a teacher with a Master’s of Art degree will see their annual pay at $51,093.

With a new school opening, the superintendent commented that operational services will also increase. Custodial services top the list at $426,097, but Nichols added that the services are up for bid this year. Additional operational costs include technology ($85,570), transportation ($39,975), and athletic ground maintenance ($25,000).

Position requests and modifications are accounting for $530,617 in Nichols’ proposal. While a part-time clerical position at an elementary school and vacant paraprofessional have been removed from the budget, new positions include the addition of three teachers due to growth, a new high school teaching position, a mechanic, a technical/technology position, a trainer for driver transportation, moving part time transportation from part-time to full time, and a clinic attendant.

Another new position that has been a buzz for Nichols is the additional of a NAVY JROTC class. The Corp of Cadets will be hiring an instructor pending approval from the United States Navy. That decision is expected to take place in late April to early May.

Finally, costs to add to regional programs (Code RVA, Maggie Walker Governor’s School, Bridging Communities Career and Technical Center, Chesapeake Bay’s Governor’s School) total $34,584.

At the conclusion of the presentation, District 3 representative Andrea Staskiel asked Nichols why the additional steps in the salary scale weren’t included.

“We looked at that and we can look at that again,” Nichols responded. “But as we put this together, we also looked at what other jurisdictions around us were doing.

“We saw that a lot of them were doing the five-percent increase,” the superintendent continued. “We believe that this increase will show that we are moving in that direction to assist our teachers as we continue to work on the process.”

Nichols will present his proposed budget to the board of supervisors at the Mar. 14 regular meeting. Both the school board and board of supervisors will convene at a Mar. 18 retreat.